Doncaster ‘Shallow grave’ killers due to be sentenced

Three people are due to be sentenced today for the murder of a man who was buried alive in a shallow grave.

Angela Dowling, Matthew Duffy and Stephen Schofield are all facing life sentences for the murder of Alan Easton near Doncaster.

Angela Dowling, convicted of murdering Alan Easton.

A three week trial heard how Mr Easton was lured down a dark country lane by the trio before he was stabbed, had his throat slit and was buried in a shallow grave in Everton on February 1 last year.

The 50-year-old had just got engaged to mum-of-four Dowling, 48, and moved into her home in Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough.

The court heard that Dowling, Schofield, 33, and Duffy, 23, planned and carried out the murder of Mr Easton, after Dowling found out her fiance had spent his £40,000 inheritance his adopted dad had left him.

Dowling and Duffy, of Sussex Street, Balby, had denied murder. They were found guilty of murder by a jury. Schofield, who also lived at Windmill Avenue, Conisbrough, admitted murder at an earlier hearing.

Matthew Duffy, convicted of murdering Alan Easton.

Mark Bingham, 50, of Fishponds Road West, Woodthorpe, Sheffield, was also accused of murder but was acquitted by a jury.

Dowling, Duffy and Schofield are due at Nottingham Crown Court this morning.